If I were pressed to offer one anecdote exemplifying our failure to elect consistent conservatives to Congress last November, the story of Senator Jerry Moran and Big Wind would be at the top of the list.

In 2010, then-Congressman Jerry Moran beat former Congressman Todd Tiahrt for the Republican nomination for Senate in Kansas running as a red meat conservative.  He easily won the seat in this solid Republican state and summarily joined the ‘Tea Party Caucus’ in the Senate.  Nothing emblematizes the convictions of the Tea Party more than its fervent opposition to special interest handouts and government interventions in the private sector as a way of picking winners and losers.  Yet, Senator Moran let the cat out of the bag last week that he has absolutely no compunction about picking winners and losers, or in the case of Big Wind, big losers.

Last week, Senator Moran announced that he is submitting an amendment to the terrible Senate highway bill (S.1813) that would extend the 2.2 cent/ per kilowatt-hour Production Tax Credit (PTC) for another 4 years.  This special interest handout to Solar and Wind is slated to expire at the end of the year.  What happened to Moran’s Tea Party views?  Well, he unabashedly threw them under the solar-powered bus:

Asked about opposition to extending the credit expressed by Rep. Mike Pompeo of Wichita, Moran said: “There are members of Congress who feel we ought not to pick winners and losers, to let the markets decided. I believe it’s better to get this industry up and running, then let the country decide… rather than pull the rug out overnight.”

Wow!  At least he’s honest.  I wish we had known that before the election.

Read More →

If I were pressed to offer one anecdote exemplifying our failure to elect consistent conservatives to Congress last November, the story of Senator Jerry Moran and Big Wind would be at the top of the list.

In 2010, then-Congressman Jerry Moran beat former Congressman Todd Tiahrt for the Republican nomination for Senate in Kansas running as a red meat conservative.  He easily won the seat in this solid Republican state and summarily joined the ‘Tea Party Caucus’ in the Senate.  Nothing emblematizes the convictions of the Tea Party more than its fervent opposition to special interest handouts and government interventions in the private sector as a way of picking winners and losers.  Yet, Senator Moran let the cat out of the bag last week that he has absolutely no compunction about picking winners and losers, or in the case of Big Wind, big losers.

Last week, Senator Moran announced that he is submitting an amendment to the terrible Senate highway bill (S.1813) that would extend the 2.2 cent/ per kilowatt-hour Production Tax Credit (PTC) for another 4 years.  This special interest handout to Solar and Wind is slated to expire at the end of the year.  What happened to Moran’s Tea Party views?  Well, he unabashedly threw them under the solar-powered bus:

Asked about opposition to extending the credit expressed by Rep. Mike Pompeo of Wichita, Moran said: “There are members of Congress who feel we ought not to pick winners and losers, to let the markets decided. I believe it’s better to get this industry up and running, then let the country decide… rather than pull the rug out overnight.”

Wow!  At least he’s honest.  I wish we had known that before the election.

Read More →

The annual federal budget is a whopping $3.6 trillion, but that figure fails to capture the true burden of government on taxpayers.

There are a number of GSEs (government sponsored enterprises) that are considered off budget.  Politicians use off-budget entities like Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Postal Service to obfuscate the true cost of government.  Additionally, the government runs a number of credit programs, in which taxpayers are on the hook for loan guarantees.  These guarantees include loans for college students and for energy programs, such as the one that purveyed failed green energy programs like Solyndra.

Under current law, Congress only factors in the cost of the loan itself when formulating the annual budget.  Perforce, if the money is paid back with interest, there is no cost to the government.  However, as we have learned so painfully, the loans are, all too often, never paid back.  Taxpayers have been called on to bailout a modicum of failed loan guarantees.  In the private sector, they use “fair value” accounting in calculating the costs of credit programs.  Fair value accounts for the costs of the market risk the lender incurs by issuing a loan, in addition to the actual borrowing costs.

Yesterday, the House passed H.R. 3581 – The Budget and Accounting Transparency Act (Scott Garrett).  This legislation brings Freddie and Fannie back on budget so taxpayers can see the true cost of these officious and destructive enterprises.  In addition, the bill will subject all loan guarantees to the “fair value” accounting method that is used in the private sector.

Astoundingly, almost every Democrat voted no on this commonsense bill.  Remember that this bill doesn’t mandate any changes to these programs or enterprises; it is not an ideologically charged bill.  This legislation merely forces Congress to reflect the true cost of government in the annual budget, not unlike what every family does with their household budget.  Sadly, even this moderate reform was too bold for Democrats.

We will be forced to clash with members of the House leadership over the next few weeks, but we should commend them when they bring legislation from conservatives, such as this budget reform bill, to the floor.  As for the Senate, we need to get them to agree to pass any budget, much less use prudent accounting methods.

Cross-posted from The Madison Project

The annual federal budget is a whopping $3.6 trillion, but that figure fails to capture the true burden of government on taxpayers.

There are a number of GSEs (government sponsored enterprises) that are considered off budget.  Politicians use off-budget entities like Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, and the Postal Service to obfuscate the true cost of government.  Additionally, the government runs a number of credit programs, in which taxpayers are on the hook for loan guarantees.  These guarantees include loans for college students and for energy programs, such as the one that purveyed failed green energy programs like Solyndra.

Under current law, Congress only factors in the cost of the loan itself when formulating the annual budget.  Perforce, if the money is paid back with interest, there is no cost to the government.  However, as we have learned so painfully, the loans are, all too often, never paid back.  Taxpayers have been called on to bailout a modicum of failed loan guarantees.  In the private sector, they use “fair value” accounting in calculating the costs of credit programs.  Fair value accounts for the costs of the market risk the lender incurs by issuing a loan, in addition to the actual borrowing costs.

Yesterday, the House passed H.R. 3581 – The Budget and Accounting Transparency Act (Scott Garrett).  This legislation brings Freddie and Fannie back on budget so taxpayers can see the true cost of these officious and destructive enterprises.  In addition, the bill will subject all loan guarantees to the “fair value” accounting method that is used in the private sector.

Astoundingly, almost every Democrat voted no on this commonsense bill.  Remember that this bill doesn’t mandate any changes to these programs or enterprises; it is not an ideologically charged bill.  This legislation merely forces Congress to reflect the true cost of government in the annual budget, not unlike what every family does with their household budget.  Sadly, even this moderate reform was too bold for Democrats.

We will be forced to clash with members of the House leadership over the next few weeks, but we should commend them when they bring legislation from conservatives, such as this budget reform bill, to the floor.  As for the Senate, we need to get them to agree to pass any budget, much less use prudent accounting methods.

Cross-posted from The Madison Project

In 2010, Barack Obama touted Solyndra’s solar panels in his State of the Union speech. We know what happened to Solyndra.

In this week’s State of the Union, Barack Obama touted Ener1′s electric car batteries. Today, Ener1 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Also in Barack Obama’s State of the Union this week, he touted Masterlock and the high productivity of its unionized workforce.

Given the odds, if you own stock in Masterlock, you might want to sell.

In 2010, Barack Obama touted Solyndra’s solar panels in his State of the Union speech. We know what happened to Solyndra.

In this week’s State of the Union, Barack Obama touted Ener1′s electric car batteries. Today, Ener1 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Also in Barack Obama’s State of the Union this week, he touted Masterlock and the high productivity of its unionized workforce.

Given the odds, if you own stock in Masterlock, you might want to sell.

We’ve heard it all before, except now the message has been repackaged to deal with the evolving reality in the Energy Sector. In “fossil fuels”, we have two big success stories: the Shale Revolution and the continued success of domestic oil development. What we didn’t hear much about was rebuilding the economy based on Green Jobs. The new Green Economy had more than a few stumbling blocks (Kaiser/Solyndra and exploding Chevy Volts).

Of course, we heard not a peep about Keystone XL.

I keep circling back to the central irony of the Obama Presidency: Obama could have been the Energy President. Clean, responsible North American energy security is within our grasp, and nothing would jump-start our economy faster than to make that commitment. Think Kennedy/Space Program or Nixon/China: every president since Nixon has promised progress on energy, and now, the president in 2012 is in a position to deliver.

But will he?

It would mean making workable compromises with industry. It might mean giving in on ANWR. It might mean telling the anti-development Luddite environmentalists who have loyally backed him to go pound sand. It might mean acknowledging that we’ve been sold an elitist bill of goods in Global Warming. It might mean backtracking on alternative energy giveaways.

Ain’t gonna happen.

Read More →

We’ve heard it all before, except now the message has been repackaged to deal with the evolving reality in the Energy Sector. In “fossil fuels”, we have two big success stories: the Shale Revolution and the continued success of domestic oil development. What we didn’t hear much about was rebuilding the economy based on Green Jobs. The new Green Economy had more than a few stumbling blocks (Kaiser/Solyndra and exploding Chevy Volts).

Of course, we heard not a peep about Keystone XL.

I keep circling back to the central irony of the Obama Presidency: Obama could have been the Energy President. Clean, responsible North American energy security is within our grasp, and nothing would jump-start our economy faster than to make that commitment. Think Kennedy/Space Program or Nixon/China: every president since Nixon has promised progress on energy, and now, the president in 2012 is in a position to deliver.

But will he?

It would mean making workable compromises with industry. It might mean giving in on ANWR. It might mean telling the anti-development Luddite environmentalists who have loyally backed him to go pound sand. It might mean acknowledging that we’ve been sold an elitist bill of goods in Global Warming. It might mean backtracking on alternative energy giveaways.

Ain’t gonna happen.

Read More →

Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom were pikers compared to the Government’s “Green Energy” schemes.

Bialystock and Bloom plotted to make millions with a guaranteed Broadway flop. Against all odds, Springtime for Hitler became a runaway hit, and The Producers went to jail.

But at least Mssrs. Bialystock and Bloom produced something of value – a hit musical.

Our Green Initiative produces flop after flop, but precious little energy. Instead of throwing the perpetrators in the hoosegow, we keep reelecting them.

Read More →

Max Bialystock and Leo Bloom were pikers compared to the Government’s “Green Energy” schemes.

Bialystock and Bloom plotted to make millions with a guaranteed Broadway flop. Against all odds, Springtime for Hitler became a runaway hit, and The Producers went to jail.

But at least Mssrs. Bialystock and Bloom produced something of value – a hit musical.

Our Green Initiative produces flop after flop, but precious little energy. Instead of throwing the perpetrators in the hoosegow, we keep reelecting them.

Read More →